Contact
by FullMetal-edwardelric-fangirl
Summary: AU. /"Don't touch me!" Sora stopped and took a step back from his twin. "Roxas... what happened to you?"/ Roxas doesn't have an easy life: school outcast, over-popular twin brother, a new beautiful girl, a mom that's never home, and a gang that hates his guts. He never had any real problems with dealing with these things. Until now. NamineRoxas. SoraKairi. Warnings inside.
1. Laugh At Me

Note from the author: Hi guys. c: I'm a terrible person for more reasons that one, and they all have to do with this work of fiction. Let me enlighten you:

Reason one: Instead of writing and finishing my other chapter fics, I'm starting a new one.  
Reason two: I'm probably disappointing some of my readers because of reason one.  
Reason three: This fic has a horrible theme and you'll never be able to look at poor Roxas again in the same way. You might've thought his life was terrible in 358/2 Days. This is, as a general statement, probably worse. ._. To each their own belief, though.

I'd like to finish this story by the end of the summer. Maybe I'll try doing updates every other week? Ha. We'll see how this goes. (:

I'm open for all kinds of criticism and questions! To be honest, if you say "I HATE IT" I won't be angry as much as curious why you hate it. C: So if you're going to say that, please explain? Thank yooooooou.

Pairings: Present SoraKairi. Eventual NamiRoxas.

Di_ssssss_claimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, obviously. I was pretty young when the first game came out, for the record. I was playing video games at the time, though. (:

**WARNING: **This story is rated **TEEN** for a reason. If you're expecting something fine and dandy that six-year-olds should be reading, you've got another thing coming. You've been warned. C: There is _foul language, neglect, drugs, alcohol,_ and other things that aren't suitable for young or youngish children in this story. Thanks.

For the record, though, this chapter is quite safe, aside from a few cuss words. C;

Now! Hopefully this is the longest author's note I'll have to do! On with the story! :D

Kingdom Hearts: Contact  
_I. Laugh At Me_

Laughter.

He couldn't help but hate hearing it in the hallway. He'd never been self-centered but he always assumed _he _was the one being laughed at; it wouldn't have been the first time. He wrapped his hoodie around him a little tighter, as if to fend off the possible jabs being thrown at him behind his back. He hadn't been far off the mark; he distinctly saw a finger thrust in his direction. The jacket wasn't much protection.

"Is that _Sora's _brother?"

"Aren't they twins or something?"

"Gross. Him? Related to _Sora? _He needs to pick up a thing or two about wardrobe, then."

"He's so _bland_, too. I sat near him in Bio., and _God,_ he's so… awkward."

"You tried _talking _to him?"

"Well, no, but…"

Inwardly, he scowled and glanced over at the group of four girls, who moved over to another set of lockers to gossip. He hated girls like them, acting like they knew everything. He had yet to understand how Sora managed to be _friends,_ or so he called them, with people like _that. _Despite his slight irritation (he'd gotten past embarrassment the year before. Now it was just annoying), he ducked into his classroom quickly, head down, eyes on the floor.

"Oof!"

He cursed quietly as his books scattered the floor. Without even looking up, he bent down to pick up his things, apologizing all the while. "Sorry, I wasn't paying atten—"

"Easy there, Shortstack."

Another body ducked down beside him and long fingers started picking up books as well. He looked up quickly. "Axel!" He beamed at his best friend, hallway problems temporarily forgotten.

Axel grinned. "What's up, Roxas?"

"Just going to class. You know, Pre-Cal."A grimace took over the boy's face at the mention of the class and he stood, taking his books from Axel with a quiet "thank you" at the end. "What're you doing here?"

Axel, who had graduated the year before and was now working, simply smiled, all-teeth. "Just picking up some paperwork. Figured I'd stop in and say 'hi.'" He rubbed one of his hands through the back of his red spiky hair.

"Oh. Well, hi, then." Roxas chuckled quietly and let a small grin fall onto his lips. "It's been a while. How's work and all going?"

"Pretty great, actually. Tons of stupid people, but, you know. It happens."

Just at the end of the statement, the shrill sound of the warning bell rang from the hall, and was rewarded with a long sigh from Roxas and an almost-silent curse. "Two minutes 'til hell…"

Axel laughed out loud. "It'll be alright, Shorty. You'll survive." He paused, and then asked suddenly, "You up for some ice cream this afternoon?"

Roxas's whole face lit up. "Sure!"

"Alright," Axel grinned. "See you at the clock tower after work, then. My treat."

Roxas nodded, but before he could say anything else, a flustered-looking teacher rushed in and nearly ran into him ("Sorry, Roxas! …Oh. Good morning, Axel. You better get out of here or the administration will call the cops.")

The red-haired chuckled. "I better get outta here before they call 911 or something. See ya, Roxas!"

"Yeah, bye!" But Axel was already gone. Roxas let a heavy sigh fall from his chest, and the grin fell from his face as if gravity had finally caught up with it—heavily and fast. His entire body slumped.

The blonde shifted backwards into his coat a little more (if that was possible), readjusted his books, and headed for the back of the classroom to take his seat, a tightness in his chest reminding him just how much he missed the days when Axel was still in school. There hadn't really been too much to worry about then. He'd had two good friends and was generally protected from the snickers because of his senior friend (that wasn't why he was friends with Axel, but it sure was nice that came with it). But then Xion moved and Axel graduated.

Suddenly he'd become all alone, and had become very aware of the massive shadow his elder brother (who was only older by six minutes, thirty-seven seconds, mind you) cast over him. He'd also noticed that he seemed to be at the center of all of his brother's "friend's" jabs and mockery. He supposed it had always been like that, but before he hadn't noticed because it hadn't _mattered._

But that was then. He couldn't change things; he still had another two years of high school left*. He refused to let the other students mess with his future; he _would _graduate and he _would_ become… whatever it was he was going to be. And he would do it well and there was nothing that would stop him.

Nothing. At. All.

-AU- Kingdom Hearts -AU-

"_Hanging out with Axel today. Don't wait up or anything."_

Roxas and his twin were very different in more ways than one: in appearance, in attitude, and as people altogether. The younger one was blonde and had baby-blue eyes, though these were the only physical differences between him and Sora. He was low-key; he'd become a very independent person, but he needed someone to tell him when was doing a good job to believe it. He tended to keep his feelings bottled up, and society saw him as strange and, somehow, weak.

"_wuznt planin on it hangin w/ kairi 2day"_

His twin, on the other hand, was the epitome of "popular." He knew _everybody,_ and if he walked—or more like _sauntered_—down the hall, all you could hear was: "Hi Sora!" "Hey Sora!" "What's goin' on, Sora?~" He was outgoing and _everybody _knew how he felt, that emotion usually being "happy."

"_Tell Mom if you get home first, though, please?"_

Despite all their differences, though, they were still twins, and generally acted like them outside of school. Because of their social differences (that Sora seemed very oblivious to), though, they weren't in contact much in school. That, and Roxas took a math two ranks higher than Sora and all honors classes, while his twin remained in Geometry, barely passing ("GOD. ROXAS. HELP ME. PLEASE. I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS BUT THAT CRAZY OLD BAT LADY'LL KILL ME IF I DON'T TURN THIS INNNNNNNNNNN!"), and in all basic classes.

"_if shes thre. k"_

Roxas sighed and shoved his phone back in his pocket, grabbed his books off his desk and set off towards the doorway to go to his locker. He was ready to get out of that mandatory hell-hole.

"Hey, Roxas! Could you wait a moment?"

His wants would have to wait though, it seemed.

"Yes, Ms. Heart?" ((Saw what I did there, right? :'D))

A paper was suddenly shoved towards him from the hands of his very frazzled-looking pre-calculus teacher. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

He stared blankly at her, and then down at the paper. "Tutoring?"

"Yes! Please. PLEASE. I've got a girl who came in from a different town in Algebra II and she's brilliant, but I just can't teach her everything that we've already covered AND teach all of the kids who don't know what we're doing _now. _She doesn't have very much to learn andI'm not asking a lot, just one or two days a week, I'll even give you extra credit, but you were so good in Algebra II and—"

Roxas held his hands up, eyes a little wide, to his rambling teacher. "Okay, okay." He looked down at the paper. "It's fine, I don't have anywhere to be on Tuesdays."

The relief was evident on the poor teacher's face. "Thank you, Roxas, _thank you. _Can you start tomorrow?"

The blonde grinned a little shakily. How could you say no to a crazy smile like that? "Yeah, sure. See you tomorrow."

He excused himself and walked out the door towards his locker. "Her name's Namine, by the way!" Came the voice after him.

_Namine, hm? Where have I heard that before?_

*Yes. He's a sophomore and is in Pre-cal. He took Algebra I in 8th grade, geometry his freshman year and Algebra II his first semester sophomore year because… because he could. ): Let's just say even if he isn't a whiz in math he enjoys challenges. SO. YEAH.

.

Okay. Obviously this wasn't terrible or anything (other than kids being mean to Roxas. But. You know.). I'm just taking my time getting to where I want to be, 'kay? It'll happen! Dx Just don't be bored with this chapter. It wasn't boring, was it? ): I hope not.

Thanks for reading!

This lonely little  
button needs  
a great big hug.  
You can fix this  
problem, can't  
you? Don't let  
it be a sad button, because  
sad buttons are a crime  
that nature can  
sue against.  
Thanks!  
(:


	2. Change My Life

A/N: Hi guys. (: Thanks for staying with me to chapter two!

Off topic: So, I was playing Kingdom Hearts II, right? And my new favorite line of Sora's is, without a doubt, "And then… we can go see SANTA!" THAT… was the CUTEST thing _ever. _I just about died. x3 I was just like "Oh Sora… You dork, you." If he'd been that cute in the first game instead of being so serious all the time, I'd probably like him more. But… in the first game it was a lot of GRRRR and not enough childish, to me, for the kind of character they're portraying him as. That's just my opinion, though. ;P

Also, I say "ker-scuffled" now. Thanks, Goofy. xP

Thanks so much to MegaPig and Aelkain for reviewing, and a major uber big thanks to DracoZombie for all your help! C:

Di_ssssssssssssssss_claimer: Still don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Roxas would play a much bigger part in II. He'd be able to like… talk to Sora and mess. It wouldn't just be random glimpses, OH NO. It'd be like a whole other personality! They'd have contact like Agito and Akito from Air Gear (don't own that either xP) and it would be amazing! But I don't own Kingdom Hearts, the second game has already come out and it's just… oh well.

:D

Kingdom Hearts: Contact  
_II. Change My Life_

School passed by faster than Roxas was used to the next day; he blamed it on his reuniting with Axel. It was nice to catch up and laugh again, just like they had before the beginning of Roxas's sophomore year. He could almost taste the sea salt ice cream still on his tongue.

The blond ventured out into the hallway just after the bell rang, dodging people and glances all the same. To his luck, his locker was on the same hallway as his pre-cal classroom, and it only took seconds to get to locker 013. _Unlucky Thirteen… So, we meet again. _Roxas had found that the superstition had followed through to his locker, and for the first two weeks he was assigned it, there was more yelling and jerking and banging than actual book exchange, but in the end he'd coaxed the metal beast into reasoning with him. _42… 37… 12. _The door creaked open.

He fished around inside it, searching for the Algebra II binder he'd brought for tutoring. He knew it was in there… somewhere.

"AH HA HA HA! I _know!_"

Roxas paused. He knew that laugh.

"It was the _funniest_ thing!"

A chorus of laughter followed. Roxas gripped the book he was holding onto so tight he swore he'd break the cover and tried to resist glancing to his right, knowing he wouldn't like what he would see. His curiosity to see just how much enjoyment was happening over there got the better of him, though, and he looked. Blue eyes flicked over to the other end of the hallway and the mouth below them almost retched. He shouldn't have looked, he knew it.

Sora strode down the hall, gloved hands folded behind his brunette hair, a grin of monstrous proportions plastered on his face. His dark blue eyes were hidden behind his eye lids and he went on blindly, _trusting,_ with his 'friends' that Roxas hated so _so _much (not that Sora had seemed to notice this fact). None of the teenagers surrounding Sora seemed to be their own person; they were all wearing the same style of clothing, all brightly colored, with brand-name shoes and all laughing at Sora's story in a way that wouldn't look embarrassing. The brunette was the most original in the group, Roxas noted (and had always known) with his over-the-top way of speaking and his unique choice of clothes, not to mention his crazy hair.

Roxas also noted that Kairi, Sora's girlfriend, and Riku, Sora's best friend, were nowhere to be seen, which wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Out of habit, not fear, the blond ducked his spiky head down as the group passed by, his twin's eyes never opening and, therefore, never seeing him. A passing elbow "nonchalantly" jabbed his back so hard he had to push off the book he was still holding to stop from careening face-first into his locker, and Roxas had to grit his teeth to refrain from defending himself and causing a scene. He knew if he did Sora _would _notice, and he'd even come to his defense, but it'd just turn out like the last time had, and he didn't want that.

"_Would you _stop _that?"_

"_Awww. Is wittle Roxy _upset?"

_Laughter. He grinded his teeth against the sound and anger flared in his eyes. He was tired of being insulted, _tired _of putting up with all the crap this douche thought he was mighty enough to dish out. Pick on a freshman, huh? WELL. Wasn't he just _macho_?_

_Roxas clenched his fist and tensed his arm, about three seconds from bringing it back to deck the guy, but all of a sudden, he didn't have to. The guy was already floored._

"_You have about three seconds to give me a _damn good _reason why you think it's funny to pick on my brother. I'm counting."_

Not many people saw that side of Sora, and an even lesser number ever wanted to. At the time, pride had filled Roxas. His twin had taken out an _upper classmen. _That was something else, right?

Except for it had been his twin, not him, Roxas, to defend himself and fix his own problem. So everyone, from that day forth, had branded him as weak that hadn't been proven otherwise.

The boy slammed his locker closed (he was sure the Infamous Thirteen would make him pay for that later) and shifted his books in his arms, turning on heel and striding back towards his classroom, itching with irritation. God forbid he would have a good day, right? One good thing causes something just as bad—he'd just about grown to believe that over the years.

He stepped into his classroom and made his way to his desk, setting his binder down on top. He found himself tracing the old doodles on the cover with his eyes, grinning a little at the stupid pictures he'd drawn in times of boredom. Just as he sat and looked up at the board and the unfamiliar faces in the room he realized, suddenly, he'd be dealing with somebody new. He hadn't figured out where he knew the name from, and it became all-too-clear he was utterly in the dark.

The small grin he's been sporting dropped in a flash. He just hoped she wasn't some major bitch or something; he had to deal with girls like that all day. Maybe _that _was why Heart hadn't wanted to teach her, maybe she was some irritating girl who didn't want to be there but was forced by her parents, or maybe she was hateful, judgmental and was going to do everything in her power to resist learning math. He groaned on the inside, hearing all the insults echoing in his mind—

"Oh, good afternoon, Namine! I'm glad you could make it!"

Roxas's head shot up so fast he swore his neck popped, ready to see all of his fears being made reality.

And was proved very, very wrong.

"Oh, thank you for letting me come, Ms. Heart. I don't know what I'd have done if I wouldn't have been able to catch up." The voice leaving her delicate lips could've been confused for that of an angel's with ease; but so could she, he swore. Her skin was a gorgeous pale and blond locks made of silk fell over one of her shoulders, her blue eyes piercing, but also delicate. She wore in a simple white dress that on anyone else would've looked plain, but she made it look outstanding.

She was beautiful.

Roxas quickly shook his head and made sure his mouth wasn't agape, trying to ignore how creepy he'd just sounded. Blue eyes found the cover of his Algebra II binder, attempting to distract himself from the sight, yet he paused, looked up and proceeded to almost fall out of his chair.

His jump made her jump as well from her position she'd been in, where she was leaned over his shoulder studying his notebook cover, and she stumbled back a few steps. "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been—"

"No, it's my fault, I just wasn't—"

"I shouldn't be so nosy, I—"

"No, seriously, it's okay… I just wasn't expecting you to be there."

They both fell silent and Roxas studied her expression quickly. She seemed borderline flustered and a little nervous, though somewhere behind that there was something strong that said she'd stand her ground. Overall, too cute to be legal.

The silence became a stressed awkward and Roxas, taking the stand for once, stuck his hand out towards her. "I'm Roxas. Namine, right?"

She smiled cutely. "Yes. Nice to meet you, Roxas. Thank you for trying to teach me…" She glanced down at the notebook and he saw just the slightest grimace pass on her face. A little part of him died happily that day; screw legal, that amount of cute shouldn't have been allowed in _nature._ "…this."

"It's no problem. Take a seat." That line sounded cooler in his head but sounded very lame and professional when it came out. He kicked himself.

She giggled (in quite a cute way) and sat down beside him, taking out her own Algebra II binder from her shoulder bag. She set it down on top of the desk and Roxas almost gasped. He had doodles on his cover; she had straight-up _art._ "Those are really good!" He complimented on a whim, looking over the several sketches that all looked very life-like.

Namine glanced down at the notebook. "Oh, these? I was just bored." She grinned. "But thank you!"

"You're welcome," he smiled back. He glanced up at the clock and, noting it had already been twenty minutes since the end of school, decided (a little sadly) to get to work on the task at hand.

-AU- Kingdom Hearts -AU-

He could honest-to-God say he'd never had so much fun with something like _math_. Usually it bored the hell out of him, but that day he could say he'd enjoyed it and speak the truth at the same time. Namine had genuine interest in learning what he had to say, though that didn't stop her from making jokes. Other than the day before with Axel, Roxas hadn't laughed so much in quite a while. He was pretty sure some of the other students in the room (who were mostly there because they had to be or they'd fail a class) didn't seem to appreciate the fun they were having, but he didn't care. For once, he couldn't wait to get back to teaching math the following Tuesday.

He was heading towards the clock tower (he and Axel had decided to start up the old ice cream tradition again, as they'd been losing touch as friends there as of late), a little bounce in his step, lost in his thoughts and the run-in with Sora's crew far from his mind. She really was nice, Namine. He hoped he could get to know her before she didn't need his help anymore.

"Hey, watch it!"

He really should've been paying attention. Saying he wasn't in a "good part of town" was an understatement. He was currently walking through a severely overlooked bit of Twilight Town where doors were locked when screams were heard. There weren't many inhabitants in the badly graffitied streets, but any house that had someone living in it had bars on the windows, provided it wasn't the house of a druggie or drunk. It was also the fastest way to get to the clock tower from the high school.

He really should've been paying attention.

Roxas looked up, an automatic apology about to roll of his tongue (he had just run into someone's shoulder, after all, even if they were being a jerk about it), but the smell of alcohol hit him first. He recoiled from the stench and looked into the face of who he'd just hit.

God, he was an idiot.

"If you think you c'n jus' push by _me, _you got another thing comin,' _buddy. _I'll have you know—" The pause let Roxas know he was probably done for. "Hey, boys! Look who it issssss." The boy whistled when he let out the "s" sound and Roxas scowled at the sound. If anything, the drunk version of this boy was more obnoxious than the regular one. "It's our friend _Roxie_." Pet name that was supposed to be annoying, or something.

From the crowd of boys behind the irritating one, a deep voice came. "Who'd you say?"

The sea of boys parted, albeit in a little bit of an unsteady manner, and the owner of the voice came to the front. Upon seeing the blonde, he smirked. "If it isn't Roxas."

Said boy scowled even deeper. "Saix." As tough as he was trying to be, though, Roxas was automatically alarmed. Saix wasn't drunk, not enough to be incoherent. The blue-haired man was dangerous when he was _sleeping, _for Christ's sake. Roxas tried to push backwards but ran into a pair of legs. Too late he realized he was surrounded.

"I thought I told you to keep off our turf."

"I _live _on your 'turf.'" Roxas rolled his eyes, despite it all. It wasn't like he was giving away anything; it was old knowledge to them where he lived. They'd even posted somebody outside his house once to wait for him, though they never saw Roxas come and go, and Axel had shown up later that day and the goon had high-tailed it out of there. All of Saix's group feared and respected Axel, especially considering he'd kind of been part of them years before. But he'd left, and swore he'd never come back. Saix didn't want to believe that.

Thus, they hated Roxas for being friends with someone they weren't even permitted to be around.

"Not a problem of mine." The cronies behind Saix all burst into drunken laughter, and Roxas had never hated it more.

.

'Kayyyy. Chapter two. Not done with this scene. C': Soooo.

Also. I know the gang member was never named. Sorry. :P If you can think of a good organization member to fit the description, go on ahead. And sorry if you're upset over any Organization OOCness. :'P

This arrow  
got just a  
bit skinnier;  
it was sc-  
ared and  
thought  
you wouldn't review because  
it was too fat. Prove  
it wrong, won't  
you?  
(:

Guilt trip! Let's go! :D


	3. Re:World of Fear

A/N: (: Hiiiiiiiii. Chapter three, my friends!

**NOTE:**Chapter three has been rewritten. C: Thanks!

Super mega thanks to MegaPig, DracoZombie, Aelkain, riml, BLueGaze19, AsakuraX, and Tinge for reviewing! :'D Reviews make me want to update more! I swear! And thanks again to Draco for all your help. C:

Di_ssssssss_claimer: Still don't own Kingdom Hearts. If you think I hold the rights, you're sadly mistaken. C;

Kingdom Hearts: Contact  
_III. Re: World of Fear_

Fighting off a group of drunken thugs shouldn't have been too difficult. The only person Roxas had been worried about was Saix, and the blue-haired man had disappeared into the crowd of jeering boys somewhere amongst him dodging drunken punches. It should've been severely easy.

The blond had to admit he was doing well in the fight that could easily decide whether or not he could walk the following morning. The pile of gang members on the alleyway pavement upped to three with a swift elbow to the neck of a boy whose laughs could only have been drug induced. Roxas couldn't help but scowl. Didn't they have anything _better_ to do?

He caught quick movement in his peripheral vision and made a quick dodge to the left, but a foot caught under his ankle and the metal pole he'd been avoiding (really, _weapons? _There were, like, twenty of them, and they were using _weapons_? And they called him a coward!) clipped his right shoulder, sending a jarring pain shooting through him. He held his breath to keep from crying out and hit the wall next to him. The sophomore cursed the small space under his breath and looked up.

The boy brandishing the pipe stood straight, a hateful smirk marring his face, his eyes clear. Roxas's visage obtained an even deeper scowl as he saw this and fought off the pain that wanted to show in his expression to the point of extreme. So they weren't all drunk off their asses? _Fantastic._

Blue eyes surveyed his options. No matter how much his pride cursed him, he wasn't stupid. He wasn't about to die by the hands of some street thugs. One of the (if there was anyone looking out for him, this was the only thing they'd granted him so far) over-intoxicated boys took it upon himself to stumble forward at just the right time and Roxas made his move.

Left hand gripped tight on his shoulder, the blonde sent the hardest kick he could muster into the boy's stomach, sending him into his fellow gang-mates, who cried out in alarm as the struck male plowed into a few of them, unable to catch his balance. Roxas took a chance and, not even sparing a look over his shoulder, ducked through to hole in circle of boys, not even noticing the hand that attempted to grab him as he passed. As he cleared the lines, no relief flooded him.

"Get back here, punk!"

And, as much as Roxas hated to say he was, he ran for his life.

-AU- Kingdom Hearts -AU-

The sun was already setting and Axel wasn't enjoying the sight in the least, and the thought that there was a stick of sea salt ice cream melting along with the sinking star in front of him was starting to worry him. Roxas was one of those ten-minutes-late kinds of people, not half an hour. The red head glanced down at the entrance to the clock tower stairs and scowled. He couldn't have forgotten, could he? Axel had to doubt the notion; Roxas had been _beyond _excited—ecstatic, even. He didn't just _forget _stuff, not on accident, at least.

The tall boy shifted from his position on the ledge and dug his cell phone out of his pocket, flipping it open with his thumb and scrolling down his contacts to his best friend.

"_Hey. You running late?"_

Axel closed his cell phone and let a sigh escape his lips, eyes watching the sun sink under the trees. Where _was _the kid, anyway?

-AU- Kingdom Hearts -AU-

After he'd escaped the alley and made it into the darkening street, Roxas found himself at a loss of where to go. Was home even safe? He wasn't sure how far the thugs would go to chase him (if most of them didn't pass out first. And what about the sober ones? And _Saix?_) and if they'd make a commotion in a neighborhood. Was it even worth the risk?

The blond was running towards his neighborhood before he'd thought it over. Where else would he go? Axel's? Then he'd have to get the red-headed boy involved. He didn't want that. By the time he'd made it to the entrance his lungs were rattling and his shoulder throbbed so hard he swore he'd pass out, but he moved as fast as his shaking legs would carry him, despite no longer being able to hear the footsteps echoing behind him. Maybe Sora wasn't home yet, and he could slip by and grab the first aid kit on the way without being noticed?

With that thought in mind, Roxas fumbled with his keys in shaking hands, trying to breathe in the proper way, a part of him cursing his inability to run long distances. He wasn't out of shape, sure, but he wasn't a marathon runner (who'd have thought he'd ever need the skill in the first place?). If they'd followed him, he was a goner. He opened the door and closed it behind him faster than he ever had before, leaning against the cold wood and letting out a ragged breath of relief. He opened his eyes and sagged against the door, not seeing anyone in the living room and thanking his lucky stars for it.

For a moment, Roxas did nothing but stand there, breathing in, out, in, out. He was still alive, which was a definite bonus from what he was thinking he might've ended up as.

He realized just how much he'd been relying on adrenaline the moment he took his first step after locking the door. All of his muscles tensed and every injury he had screamed out; it took every ounce of his will-power (and some support from the wall) to keep him from crumpling to his knees as a wave of nausea swept over him. He couldn't remember being hit in the head… He hoped it was just fatigue, not some head injury that was blooming late.

The walk to the kitchen was a slow one, and by the time he managed to get his hands on the first aid kid a good twenty minutes had passed and all he wanted to do was curl up in his bed and sleep (in other circumstances, he might've said "die," but the word wasn't all that appealing at the time). But his bed was upstairs.

He groaned.

The beast that was the stairs would have to be conquered sometime, he figured, but they'd never seemed so tall before. His sore legs tingled before he'd even moved to walk up them. _One… two… three… four… _He cursed out loud as the deep bruise on his right knee cried out in protest louder than normal. _Five… six… seven…_

Twelve steps. Roxas had never viewed mounting the top step on stairs as an accomplishment before, but that night it, by all means, had made it an achievement, and a trophy would've done wonders for his spirits. Instead all he got was to see his reflection, which did nothing but make his skin itch and make him realize just to what degree he needed a shower.

He considered not even bothering, but knew he'd regret it in the morning and if any of his cuts got infected it'd cause even more problems. Plus if he looked like he'd gotten mugged when he woke up (well, considering he _had,_ but no one else needed to know that), Sora would notice and want to know what was up, and Roxas wanted to avoid that at all costs. No one else was to get involved in his problem (there weren't many who would care enough to get into it anyway, but the select few didn't need to worry).

_Speaking of Sora…_

The blonde reached his left hand into the pocket where he kept his phone, aiming to check the time. His fingers returned empty and he checked the rest of his pockets in a quick motion before exhaling a loud sigh. _That sucks. I'll have to buy a new one next weekend or something. _He figured his cell phone was either lying in the street somewhere or in some street rat's hands, soon to be pawned off and never seen again. He wasn't worried; it wasn't like he couldn't afford a new one. Anyone who needed him could just call Sora or the house, for the time being.

-AU- Kingdom Hearts -AU-

Axel was worried.

He wasn't the type to fret over little things. The fact that he'd gotten "_naw_ _had bettr shit 2 do (;" _meant Roxas had probably lost his phone. Roxas losing things wasn't uncommon; he had invisible holes in almost everything he owned and he was a pickpocket's dream (as the pickpocket wouldn't even have to pick his pocket, just follow him for a little bit). Axel could only imagine the ridiculous amount of munny the blonde boy had lost over time.

Even if Roxas _had_ dropped his cell phone, though, that wouldn't have meant he would have just blown the redhead off (to be honest, he half expected the younger boy to show up and say something along the lines of: "My phone?" Pat his pockets in a frantic motion. "Oh, crap, I must've dropped it somewhere. Mannnnnnn…"). It was very unlike him, hence Axel being worried.

The sun had already set and the fall chill was taking place of the warm air. The tall boy shivered and readjusted his coat, pulling out his cell phone once more as he exited the clock tower. He flipped it open and dialed a number he only used on rare occasions, hoping for the best.

It rung twice before it clicked.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Sora."

"_Hey, Axel. What's up?"_

"It's about your brother, actually. We had plans to hang out today and he never showed. You with him?"

"_No, I'm at Kairi's. But that's weird. Did you text him?"_

"Yeah, but I think he lost his phone. I got some BS text back that would've made him cry at the sight of the spelling."

On the other line, Sora couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, but he lost the laughter when the rest of it came back to him. The brunette shifted his weight from foot to foot in Kairi's foyer and he tried to make light of it. "Well, that's just fantastic. I guess we'll be going to the mall soon. Did you try the house?"

"_No answer twenty minutes ago." _He heard Axel sigh. _"You have any idea where he could be? He doesn't usually just forget stuff."_

"No clue," Sora replied and frowned to himself. "I'll go home, now, though, and see if he's there. I'll give you a buzz when I get there, alright?"

"_Thanks. It might be nothing but…"_

"It's worth looking into. Call you in a sec. Bye."

"Bye."

-AU- Kingdom Hearts -AU-

He'd finished bandaging his shoulder (which had actually started bleeding. How _lovely_) and was leaning into his bed; the only thing his groggy mind was registering was how much softer the sheets felt on his skin than they had the night before. He kept feeling like he'd forgotten something, but before he could finish going through his mental checklist of 'Things to Do So Sora Doesn't Find Out' he was asleep.

Roxas awoke to a pair of shoes thundering up the stairs. His eyes shot open and he sat straight up in bed, but regretted it at once when his shoulder roared to life and the cuts and bruises on his torso pulled. _God, did they get inside?_ He could remember locking the door clear as a bell, and he would've heard someone kicking the door in, right? Right? This was it, then. He couldn't defend himself well and he could already imagine another pipe coming crashing through his door; he was going to die, no matter what he did—

"Roxas, you in here?"

His frantic train of thought pulled to a halt. His response was automatic. "Sora?"

His bedroom door opened to reveal his twin, his spikes a little windswept and his eyes relieved, his goofy smile crawling onto his lips. The brunette tucked his arms behind his head. "See, I knew there was nothing wrong with you! I better—"

Sora fell silent and Roxas gave him a questioning look. "What—?"

"Are those bandages on your shoulder?"

In the half-light, the white bandages were in stark contrast against Roxas's tanned skin. His blue eyes widened. That had been what he'd forgotten. A shirt.

How could he be so stupid?

A lie rolled off his tongue more awkward than not. "Yeah, ha ha, I, uh, fell down the stairs and hit the round-ball-thing on the banister with my shoulder and split the skin, so I… wrapped… it." He'd slowed down from the look on his brother's face, who'd flicked the light switch beside him somewhere during the tale. He didn't believe him. Of course he didn't. They both knew the only person Roxas was good at lying to was himself.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Sora frowned. "Roxas…"

"Just drop it, alright?" He said this while bringing the most defiant look he could muster to his face. Sora would NOT get involved!

His twin paused and seemed to think a second before saying, "Fine. But at least call Axel. He's worried sick 'cause you blew him off this afternoon." Sora tossed the blonde his own cell phone and walked out of the room. Roxas caught the cellular device and turned it over in his hand, cursing in his head. He'd forgotten all about meeting Axel that afternoon.

Sora was standing in his pajamas outside his brother's door, trying not to eavesdrop.

"—yeah, I know, I'm stupid. Sorry."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright. Bye."

Just as the phone clicked shut Sora walked straight into the room and sat down cross-legged on the end of Roxas' bed. "How'd that go?"

"Fine, I guess. He didn't really ask any questions."

"Not that you'd have given any answers." He crossed his arms. Now that the light was on, Sora could spot several other band-aids and bruises that were dotting his brother's exposed skin.

"Sora—"

"Listen, Roxas. There's a difference between being in your business and being your brother. Wouldn't you want to know if something was happening to me?"

"Yeah, but nothing ever happens to you—"

"I didn't think anything ever happened to you, either! But it did."

"…"

"Please, Roxas."

"I don't want your help."

"You're getting it."

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"Are you even listening to yourself?"

Roxas huffed and looked into his brother's eyes. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _He hoped he was making the right decision. _You weren't supposed to notice._

After being assured Sora wouldn't run out the door and try and kill someone, Roxas took a deep breath and sighed it back out. He met his brother's eyes and let his fatigue catch back up with him again before he quietly explained. "After tutoring, I was heading for the clock tower…"

.

"Review," says  
this quite short  
arrow here, so  
are you going to obey the short arrow  
or face the dire consequences  
of disobeying a short  
arrow? Hm?  
:D


	4. Welcome Me Home

A/N: Yay! Chapter four! Thanks for sticking with me this far. C: Sorry it took me so long to updattttee. Dx

**NOTE**: Chapter three has been rewritten, so you should go reread it. :'P I wasn't happy with the way it turned out, so. Yeah! (: Make sure you read that before this~

Also: Huge_normous_ thanks to _MegaPig_, _DracoZombie_, _Aelkain_, _riml_, _BLueGaze19_, _AsakuraX_, _Tinge_, "Random Fandom," _CrazyWhatIfGirl_, "Guest," and _duckie lover 151_ for reviewing! :'D I lovelovelove reviews and they make me want to update! When no one takes the time to review, how do I know you even took the time to read it, you know? ): And, again, thanks to Draco for all your help. :D

Di_sssssssssssss_claimer: I have yet to find any ownership paper with my name on it. Only in my dreams, guys. So, no. I don't own _Kingdom Hearts_. :P

Kingdom Hearts: Contact  
_IV. Welcome Me Home_

*Sora not threatening to go off and try and murder someone had been a good sign, maybe even the kick-off to the better end of a bad situation, Roxas thought. He returned to school and was determined to move along as normal.

The hallway was quiet; the blonde had waited back so there wasn't a chance the crowd would hit his shoulder or him in general. He stepped out and walked to his locker—_ah, hello, Thirteen_—and spun the dial on the lock. As he opened it the hinges moaned but didn't put up a fight and his attempt to put his book bag inside was a complete success. Blue eyes met themselves in the reflective surface on the front of his bag. Roxas was amazed by just how quiet the week had been; it was already Friday. _Other than Hendricks patting my shoulder yesterday, and my knee flaring up, this hasn't even been too hard to cover up. _He couldn't stop the tiny grin forming on his lips. The situation might've been awful, but it was obvious his acting skills weren't too shabby.

He deemed that Friday a good day, right then and there. He didn't have any homework, for one, which he was grateful for; he'd woken up a considerable amount less sore that morning; and, best of all, he'd been exempt from his test in Pre-Cal! He'd made plans to hang out with Axel that afternoon, as well, but the red-head had to work late, so video games and pizza would have to wait until a little later that night. The boy closed his locker door, the small grin tugging at the edges of his lips. Indeed, the better end of a bad situation.

With nowhere to go, Roxas headed home by himself. Sora was going out with Kairi (which had taken many _I'll be FINE!_s to allow it to happen) that night, so he had the house to himself and a computer calling his name. He took the long way home (and avoided _that _street by about nine blocks. It wasn't that he was afraid, he just wasn't stupid) and the bruise on his knee didn't even hurt much. He snuggled back into his coat to keep off the fall wind; he loved good days. If only _every _day were nice…

He got to his house and pulled out his keys, humming to himself as the autumn gusts played with the tail of his coat. He moved to insert the key into the lock, but on contact the door creaked backwards a few inches. Roxas paused. _It hasn't been closed all the way… I closed it this morning. …That means…_ He held the key where it was before his grin dropped off his face, along with the hand holding the small metal object. Good day. Good day? Ha!

The blond pocketed his keys and glanced through the small gap the door had made, but couldn't see anything moving around. The lighting in his living room was darker than it usually was in the afternoon, and he realized the curtains were drawn. There was only one reason he could think of that would make that happen, though he couldn't say he was surprised. It had been about three weeks already.

He pushed the door open farther with his left hand. The first thing that hit him was the stench of alcohol and smoke, and for one moment he was afraid he was wrong, _so_ wrong, and it was actually Saix's crew, waiting for him. As the light from outside filtered inside, though, he sighed out something that could've been relief as his first assumption was proven correct. At first glance it looked like his living room floor was littered with corpses, but there was an occasional drunken snort that would rumble from different areas of the room. Roxas shook his head and held his breath, stepping around the various trash and bottles that dotted the dirty carpet, aiming for the stairs that seemed more like the stairs to Heaven than the stairs of hell he'd seen them as before. He reached the banister and was almost on the first step before he heard it.

"Roxas?"

It was quiet, raspy. He flinched at the sound.

"Issat you, Roxas, honey? Or issat Sora?"

He stopped trying to climb that stairs when a hand gripped his shoulder. He tightened his hold on the banister to keep from yelling out, eyes squeezed shut as tight as he could manage, and turned towards the person holding him, whose hand fell away as he moved. He forced a smile onto his face.

"Hi, Mom."

The woman's face before him contorted into a drunken grin and a giggle came from between her teeth. The hand returned and latched onto his hair. "Oh, 's you, Roxy, my baby, hiiiii… You… y'ur so… so blonde… I _miss _yoooou…"

Roxas took her hand from his hair and let it drop. In the back of his mind he wondered when she got home (only _his_ mother would have a drinking party in the afternoon, of course) and brought all the people with her. He looked at the pathetic excuse for a mom in front of him and couldn't stop the disgusted expression that came to his face. "Get yourself together."

The blond was all but stomping up the stairs, then, ignoring how much his bruises didn't want him to walk in such a heavy way and past anger pulsing through his veins. He could hear her wailing, still at the bottom step ("I'm sorry, baby, I… I… I _love_ yoooou!"), but he didn't care. He'd been dealing with her coming home drunk, getting drunk, being demanding or a combination of the three for years; he'd seen her from bawling her eyes out to kicking her 'delinquent' and 'useless' sons out the house. He stopped having concern for her years before, he'd told himself. Every insult, every deplorable state, every forged signature, every door slammed in his face. He didn't care. He _didn't_ care.

Upon reaching the top step, Roxas reached into his pocket before he realized he still didn't have a cell phone. He hung his head and sighed, anger still making his fists clench but he began to stride rather than stomp. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it and moved to his room, snatching up the bag he'd packed that morning and locking his door behind him as he left. He locked Sora's door with his spare, as well, and walked back to the stairs. His mother was nowhere in sight, and the commotion hadn't seemed to have woken anyone up. The blonde clenched and unclenched his fists, resisting the urge to run down the stairs and scream and break something, wake them all up. Strewn around his house, like they owned the place.

It was unfortunate, though, that the person who, in actuality, owned the place was somewhere passed out down there too.

He slipped outside without a sound.

Roxas was walking towards the shopping district, aiming for the payphone in front of a grocery store he could use to call Sora. When he got there, he rattled his hand around in his pants pocket before sighing. _Make a plan to go to a payphone, forget to bring change. Of course I would. _The sliding doors whizzed open and the noise grabbed his attention, planning to go inside to exchange some bills for change, but he paused at the sight of the person coming out of the doors.

"Namine?"

The blonde girl looked towards him, seeming a little startled, before a smile broke out on her face. "Oh, hello, Roxas!" She moved the few steps to him, shopping bags swinging in her hands. "What's got you in this part of town?"

He thought about lying (it was a little—_very_ tiny—bit embarrassing), but decided it wasn't worth it, so he improvised. "I, uhm, lost my cell phone," he said, a sheepish grin picking at his lips. "And the house phone… isn't available, and I need to call Sora, so," he stated this while waving his left hand at the phone, "here I am."

Namine giggled a little. "You lost your phone? Is that why you didn't answer me yesterday?"

"Y-you texted me? Oh, I'm sorry, Namine, I—"

"It's okay. I figured it out on my own eventually." She was smiling still. "You want to use my phone? That way you won't have to pay to use that."

"Oh, I don't want to bother you…"

"It's no problem! You've gone out of your way to help me, anyway. It's the least I could do." She held out her phone and gave him a face so convincing it seemed like she'd be upset if he said no.

He took the phone. "It'll only be a sec, I swear."

She grinned.

The conversation with Sora was simple and to the point. The longest response had been curse, followed by: "alright, I'll come talk to you tomorrow. You'll be at Axel's?" When he hung up, Roxas moved back over to Namine, who was waiting with a patient appearance. "Here ya go," he said, handing it back to her. The sheepish smile returned. "Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome, but it really wasn't anything."

Roxas' eyes fell on the bags at Namine's feet and he glanced back up at her. The words were tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. "I'll walk you home, if you don't mind. You look like you could use some help." Once his brain caught up with his mouth, though, every ounce of blood in his body rushed to his face and he turned his head to the side so fast he swore his neck popped. "I-I mean, if—"

Namine seemed to leap on the opportunity, though. Part of Roxas told him it was because the bags were actually quite heavy; another part told him she liked his company. He didn't know which to believe. "Sure," she replied. "I-I'd like that."

He looked back at her, disbelieving his ears at first, but she was staring back at him, another smile gracing her lips. The light pink on her cheeks had to be make-up, though. He stooped down and picked up several bags, and she snatched up the last one before he could, mumbling something about not being useless, and all Roxas could do was laugh.

In the dark, quiet alley, his echoing laugh startled his two companions out of their dazes, and he turned to face them, his observation complete. They both gave him quizzical looks, and Saix answered them with a simple sentence.

"Revenge will be sweet."

.

*What? I used a time-skip to avoid the conversation between Roxas and Sora because I didn't know how to write what Sora would say and I knew it'd be a lot of dialogue? Sorry, Sora-fans. He isn't a main character in this, nothing else got revealed except for the story you already read, and I just moved the plot along. And I'm lazy. And don't like writing Sora because he's usually OOC when I do. Dx SO. If I was more comfortable writing his character, I probably would've done some of that scene, but you didn't exactly miss out on anything when I didn't write it. So.

Questioning looks for the end, anyone? (:

I feel like Namine is a little OOC (and maybe Roxas a bit in this too. Ugh), but, to be honest, Namine isn't really developed that well in the series to see just how she'd react in social situations. I'm using her more defiant/outgoing personality from II, but… She just doesn't get much personality love in the series. xD So… sorry if I disappointed you with the way she reacted, but she obviously isn't going to be like "You were never supposed to exist, Roxas!" and be all-knowing about him, as she's only met him in-story now… what, twice? SO. YEAH.

And no. Don't expect any super-fast kissing scenes, or them to be dating in the next chapter, or anything (this is not a fluff story, my friends! I'm here for plot-line!). Relationships just don't develop that fast. This wasn't some loveatfirstsightOHhe'sjustsoamazingI'minlovewithhimnow thing (Roxas thought she was cute. Whoopee!). xP To be honest, they'll probably never even kiss in this story unless I decide to make an epilogue, much less confess how much they 'love' eachother in the next chapter or so. :'P I don't know. We'll see. I'm just saying, though. I'm sick of reading fics where characters decide they're "in love" and they've only known eachother for days. 'Like' them, sure, but you don't hang out with someone and then suddenly realize you're just in "love." It just doesn't work that way in, like, all cases (I guess there could be an exception in there somewhere, but this isn't one). SO. Done ranting now. xP

This is a verrry  
very very very  
very very very  
very very very  
very very very  
very very very  
very very very  
very very very  
very very very  
very very very  
very very very  
very very very  
very very very  
long-winded arrow that would REALLLLLLLLY appreciate  
it if you would take the time to fill out the review  
box so it can stop typing text and breathe  
again but it can't take a breath  
until its job is done  
to make you  
review  
(:


End file.
